Prosecutor's Office exposes 13 torture chambers of occupants in Kherson region

In Kherson region, more than 1,500 cases of torture of civilians during the occupation have been confirmed, including about 50 murders as a result of torture. Law enforcement officers have already notified more than a hundred people involved in these crimes, including Russian military, FSB officers and collaborators.

This was reported by Oleksiy Butenko, Head of the Department for Combating Crimes Committed in the Context of Armed Conflict of the Kherson Regional Prosecutor's Office.

As of June 2025, more than 1,500 people who were victims of torture have been documented. Most of them have already been recognized as victims and interrogated in criminal proceedings. Almost 50 cases of civilians killed as a result of torture are also under investigation. In three cases, the victims died after their release - from injuries sustained in torture chambers.

According to Butenko, at least 13 torture chambers were discovered in the region: 11 in the de-occupied territories and 2 in the temporarily occupied territories. Most of these places were found in Kherson district - 7, in Beryslav district - 4, and one in Kakhovka and Henichesk districts.

We do not stop. No crime will go unpunished," emphasized Oleksiy Butenko.

"From the first days of the full-scale invasion, mass enforced disappearances of activists, journalists, volunteers, and local authorities were recorded. People were held in inhumane conditions, subjected to torture, sexual violence and moral pressure.

Among the documented stories is the case of a music teacher who continued to teach children according to the Ukrainian curriculum during the occupation. In August 2022, the Russians took her and her husband to a basement, where they beat her on the head, back, arms, and passed electric current through wires connected to her body. She was held without food for over a week, and before being released, she was forced to record a fake confession on camera.

Another victim was a volunteer who delivered food to the needy. She was kidnapped along with several civilians, tortured, abused and threatened. The woman was held for over a month in a cramped cell without food, and before her release, the occupiers staged her execution.

According to the prosecutor, the occupiers tortured educators, law enforcement officers, and local government officials, forcing them to cooperate. In many cases, they demanded ransoms for their release.

As of June, law enforcement officers identified 108 people involved in the torture of civilians. Among them are Russian military officers, FSB officers, Russian Guard officers and militants. 49 indictments against 105 defendants have already been sent to court. 10 people have already been convicted.

Also, the Belgian human rights organization published a report on the torture suffered by civilians in the Kherson temporary detention center during the Russian occupation of the city. The document says that the occupiers regularly used beatings, hanging by the hands, electric shocks, and simulated drowning with water.

Анна Бальчінос